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Hashada
Summary Hashada is a monolatrist, theocratic religion first formally established in the year 0MD, in the Ahhasunu city-state of Nammu. It is the driving force behind the Ahhasunu Empire, and is enforced as the imperial religion in both its heartlands and colonies. Hashada's combination of hardline religious zeal with a sophisticated, pragmatic approach to administration and warfare is widely credited for its rapid ascendancy from a niche cult movement to the dominant continental power within the space of a single century. Etymology Hashada is derived from the Ahhasunu word hashad, which means "follow". Adherents of Hashada, particularly those on active military or civic duties, are known as "hashadi" (also the generic Ahhasunu word for "follower", though this word was not historically used with religious connotations by other Ahhasunu religions). Origins The Ahhasunu region was, up until 23MD, composed of multiple independent city-states and statelets. A variety of religions were practiced, though most of these fell within the same broad polytheistic consensus, albeit with most city states having a particular favoured patron god or goddess. Nammu was no exception, with most residents worshipping the god Nammahan, a male god associated with industry, law and grain (Namma meaning "law" in Ahhasunu, and Nammu meaning "lawful"). Nammahan's priesthood was quite affluent, and notoriously corrupt. While all Ahhasunu priesthoods traditionally supported themselves on the donations of lay worshippers, the priesthood of Nammahan was particularly lavish in their indulgence and particularly demanding in their calls for tribute. This fomented considerable religious resentment amongst much of Nammu's population. Various groups of dissenters and critics formed as a result, with a range of demands, from a call for a different patron god, to the complete abolition of a dominant religion in Nammu. This high degree of dissent was possible due to the fairly sophisticated intellectual culture of the Ahhasunu city states, where there was a long history of tolerating fringe movements so long as they paid lip service to the city's government. One such dissenting group became known as the Council of Elders - although, in fact, many of their most important members were quite young. Most members of the Council were drawn from the ranks of Nammu war veterans, new money industrialists and merchant adventurers. This group was neither anti-religious nor anti-Nammahan - in fact, they can more accurately described as an extreme cult of Nammahan. There has been some speculation amongst non-Hashada scholars as to the motives of the founding Council. Many claim (though there is no explicit evidence) that the Council of Elders cynically engineered Hashada as a sort of "ideal" religion for the purposes of gaining power. The comprehensive and rapid development of the religion's dogma, much of which had no precedent in previous Ahhasunu religious practice, is generally treated as indicative of this "deliberately-contrived" theory. Hashadi scholars, however, claim that this suddenness and lack of precedent is simply evidence supporting the official Hashada narrative - that Nammahan revealed his will directly to the Council in a series of divine appearances to them during their private meetings. Teachings Rejecting the use of their patron god's personal name as disrespectful, they instead referred to Nammahan as "Mashai-Pan" - the "King Above". The Council claimed that, while other gods and goddesses existed, they were inferior to Mashai-Pan both morally and in terms of power, and that they ought not to be worshipped. They developed detailed lifestyle rules for hashadi to follow (discussed in "Lifestyle Rules" below), and also laid out a constitutional system for governance by a hashadi government - with a "King Below" (Mashai-On) selected by the Council of Elders, who played an advisory, judicial and elective role, and a dual hierarchy of civic and religious officials. Hierarchy is at the heart of the Hashada understanding of the world, with Mashai-Pan ruling over other supernatural beings, and Mashai-On ruling over earthly beings on his behalf. Lifestyle Rules Hashadi are expected to adhere to a set of religious rules collectively known as the Namma-On ("Laws Below"). The key requirements of the Namma-On for lay followers are: * Sole worship of Mashai-Pan * Obedience to hashadi religious and civic officials * No consumption of red meat * No consumption of alcohol, hashish and other intoxicants *Abstention from sex outside of marriage for women; for men, sex with concubines and wartime captives is also permitted, within prescribed boundaries *Set prayers three times a day, accompanied by ritual washing *Modest, tidy and unpretentious clothing - generally observed by wearing specific types of clothing approved and mass-produced by the hashadi administration *Seeking marriage and raising children (with exceptions for certain specialist officials who serve for life) *When necessary, military service or civic labour for all able-bodied men